Thur, Apr 30th

Another day trip for the White threesome. Today we headed north of Hayle, this time along the cliffs and coves that surfers love. We headed along the B3301 towards Gwithian and stopped several times within the first couple of miles to get some photos of the Godrevy Lighthouse and then the beaches at Gwithian. Next stop was Hell's Mouth where Dawn decided she wanted to take the photos. When she returned to the car, after her knees had stopped shaking and she had edged herself back slowly from the 200 feet sheer drop, she asked me nicely if I would give this landmark a miss and drive on. I agreed and half a mile up the road I pulled into a parking area and made my way towards a barrier and took some photos looking back towards the cliffs that made my good wife nervous. However, even these cliffs made Dawn nervous too as the cliff edge was only 10 feet from the barrier and probably the drop just as sheer.

From here the road meandered in a little. The next stop was Portreath were there was a nice cover for surfers and the smell of bacon so great that we just had to have a bacon butty for lunch. Even Tiny got into the act by licking Dawn's hand. Here there was an incredible harbour which was designed almost like a lock with three chambers. Then it was onto Porthtowan where there was nothing other than two headlands either side of a cove, a bar which was overcrowded with midday revellers, and a couple of people our age walking a couple of dogs. Even so, it was tranquil and we loved it all the same.

Next port of call was a car park at St Agnes Head. We drove round and round a single lane road with no idea where we were going except the directions Dawn was following on the map. Like she said, "There's a car park. So there is bound to be something of interest there." Mistake. There was a nice view admittedly. But not the best and it was in the middle of nowhere. We had a laugh and then headed to the cove that was St Agnes. However, not before I had to reverse up a 20% gradient hill because a couple of riders on horses were coming up the single lane damn road. We decided to take another route and got to it a lot easier.

Again, the small cove seemed a haven for surfers and pet lovers. Again, there was just one bar and a couple of small shops. There was a Royal National Lifeboat Institute hut with a boat ready to launch and save some poor soul lost on the waves. But like all the other coves, that was it. Tranquil, peaceful and away from everything.

By now we were ready to head back to the chalet and were thinking about dinner. Tiny was good as gold again and we didn't want her cooped up much longer. So we headed back to Hayle. Again, I walked along the beach and again we enjoyed another fish dinner. I have to admit the calories have been passing our lips this week. However, we have been good by eating fish instead of red meat so much. Don't mention the wine, fish and chips, and of course the Cornish Pasty which was probably 1100 calories on its own.

One special note of interest. We stopped in Hayle on the way back and picked up some fresh Cornish ice cream at Mr B's. We had it after dinner as we watched television tonight and it was the best I had ever tasted. Thankfully we only found the place today. Had we found it on Sunday we would have gained 10 pounds just from the ice cream.